History, according to Mark Twain, does not repeat itself, but it rhymes. Clearly, there is no precedent for the scale of the crisis facing the nation and its railways. However, looking back over Modern Railways’ history we can see similarities with 1982.
Nationally the country was in recession while Government was briefly distracted by the Falklands conflict. British Rail was at war with itself, with industrial action during the summer costing over £650 million at today’s prices.
As ever, the railway and government were at odds over electrification, with BR upping the stakes by claiming the Balfour Beatty electrification team would be disbanded unless a new scheme was authorised. In parallel, BR Chairman Sir Peter Parker was warning of the ‘crumbling edge of quality’.
Technical competence was under challenge. Within less than a year of the launch of the flagship Advanced Passenger Train (APT), BR had conceded its three pre-production versions could not be made sufficiently reliable for passenger service.
Even Brigadier Lloyd’s Railway Conversion League, having been resuscitated by Reading University, had been given new credibility through a Department of Transport-funded study into the potential of tur…
